Messi won't have ideal prep for 2026 World Cup: how injury changes it | OneFootball

The build-up to the World Cup could hardly have looked more promising: 12 goals in 14 matches, seven assists, and even a new career record: becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goal contributions in a Major League Soccer regular season. But everything started to get complicated this Sunday, in Inter Miami’s last match before the start of the World Cup, when he felt discomfort in the back of his left thigh and asked to be substituted in the 23rd minute of the second half. Anyone else, perhaps, would have preferred not to play. But Messi’s competitive gene works differently, and he decided to play anyway even though little was at stake: whatever happened, the Herons would go into the break in second place in the Eastern Conference, still with 19 matches left to play, and the opponent was bottom of the table.

With hindsight, maybe he pushed himself a bit too hard: when it emerged that Messi needed medical tests, it became clear that it was not just “fatigue”, as his coach Guillermo Hoyos had explained in the post-match press conference. The tests ended up confirming it: Lionel Messi has a minor muscle injury that, while not as serious as a tear, will force him to stop for around ten days, something that disrupts his preparation for the World Cup, including the friendlies on June 6 and 9, with the national team already based in the United States.

The first conclusion from this unexpected setback is that Messi will not arrive at the World Cup in the condition he wanted. Along the way he did everything possible: even training separately alongside Rodrigo De Paul so that, just weeks before turning 39 — he will celebrate it during the tournament, between the group-stage matches against Austria and Jordan — he could maintain his competitive rhythm at Inter Miami, raise the demands of a lesser league, and approach his sixth World Cup in the best possible way.

Throughout that stretch he avoided speaking publicly about his presence at the tournament. He preferred to let time pass and assess how he felt in this final stage of the season, already with a good number of matches under his belt and complete knowledge of his body. Especially after 2024 and 2025, when he struggled to maintain consistency with the national team: he recorded 16 appearances and nine absences, although only one — against Peru in the Copa América — was due to a decision by Lionel Scaloni, who that night chose to rest the starters.

Messi did not speak this time either. De Paul did, however, one of the voices closest to the captain within the squad: “I’m sure he won’t miss the World Cup. He is our most important player, our captain, and a fundamental part of everything this team represents. For him, playing for Argentina is much more than football: it is pride, responsibility, and passion.” In the end, the issue was not as severe as first feared, although it came at the worst possible moment and in the middle of a situation in which other key names are also carrying knocks that will prevent them from arriving at full strength.

Within that scenario, there is one factor working in the Rosario-born star’s favor: MLS has entered its break and will not resume until after the World Cup. That is why the next thing for Messi would be the friendlies with Argentina in the United States: against Honduras in Texas and against Iceland in Alabama. Scaloni’s idea was to spread the minutes around and give everyone playing time, although the coach had already decided to take extra precautions with several players who are arriving at the decisive stage of preparation less than fully fit.

Inter Miami released a medical statement and confirmed that Messi is suffering from “an overload associated with muscle fatigue in the left hamstring”. It also clarified that “the time it takes for him to resume physical activity will depend on his clinical and functional progress.” The issue can cause pain, stiffness, or discomfort when accelerating, stopping, or kicking. The captain will not need special treatment, although he will have to take a break of between one and two weeks so the pain subsides and the muscle regains elasticity, stability, and responsiveness before being pushed again.

It is an area that had already caused him problems. In February of this year, Messi suffered a strain in that same muscle during a match against Barcelona in Guayaquil, a game in which he scored a goal and was substituted in the second half. As a result of that episode, he was only just fit for the start of the league season, when Inter Miami lost 3-0 to Los Angeles FC. After that match, the Rosario-born forward traveled to Puerto Rico for a postponed friendly against Independiente del Valle, where he ultimately played 45 minutes and scored from the penalty spot.

Since then, he has almost always been on the field. He was absent only in the 0-0 draw against Charlotte, when he rested before the FIFA window, and he played the full 90 minutes in 13 of his 14 MLS matches, in addition to the Concachampions round-of-16 tie against Nashville.

While several players have already returned to the country, Messi chose to remain in Miami until he had a precise diagnosis and only then decide the next steps. The player still has not publicly confirmed that he will play in the World Cup, although at this point it is hard to imagine a scenario without him at the tournament.

The list of 26 players who will compete at the World Cup will be announced in the coming days, while the coaching staff is already planning a short training camp in Ezeiza before the trip to the United States. If he does not take part in the friendlies, Messi would arrive at the opener against Algeria on June 16 having gone 23 days without competition, a period similar to that of much of the squad, since the world’s major leagues ended this weekend. But when it comes to a player of his age, each day carries a little more weight. And the calendar, inevitably, is starting to play its own match.

The other injured players

Cristian Romero: in the final stage of rehabilitation after suffering a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. If he does not play in the friendlies, he would arrive at the opener with more than two months of inactivity.

Emiliano Martínez: recovering from a fracture in the ring finger of his right hand. Expected to miss the matches against Honduras and Iceland, he is aiming to be fit for the opener against Algeria.

Marcos Acuña: on Sunday he asked to be substituted in the final between River and Belgrano. At Núñez they are calling it a “muscle tightness” in the right hamstring. If it is a tear, he would travel basically just to recover.

Gonzalo Montiel: carrying a tear in the rectus femoris of his left leg and will be ready one week before the opener.

Nahuel Molina: on May 30 it will be three weeks since his tear in the right thigh. Available for the friendlies, but without the expected match rhythm.

Nicolás González: has put a tear behind him and, despite his lack of rhythm, would be in the final squad.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.